Assemblage of reusable containers for use as substitutes for plastic and paper bags at market check-out stations

ABSTRACT

An assemblage of reusable nestable containers for use as substitutes for bags at market check-out stations.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates somewhat to the environment and more specifically to the excessive use of non-degradable plastic bags and paper bags for handling merchandise at market check-out stations.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Assertions that excessive use of plastic and paper bags is contributing to the overcrowding of landfills and is inflicting irreparable damage to our environment and that excessive use of plastic bags is also endangering some wild life, have been accepted as fact by many authorities for a number of years. Public demand for a solution to this problem is exemplified by restrictions, levies and outright bans that communities throughout the United States are imposing on consumers for the use of such bags.

DISCUSSION OF PRIOR ART

Consumer supplied reusable shopping bags, baskets, boxes and other containers have been known throughout history, and have often been considered as substitutes for plastic and paper bags. Elements of the present invention have also been known and used for disparate purposes for hundreds, maybe thousands, of years, but previously known reusable containers have not been widely accepted by shoppers or merchants. Perhaps lack of acceptance is due to the inconvenience of handling containers of varying and often cumbersome shapes while shopping or to sanitation difficulties associated with such containers.

OBJECT OF THE INVENTION

The main object of this invention is to overcome the inadequacies of previously known reusable containers by providing shoppers with an efficiently viable, convenient, economical, compact, versatile and easily portable assemblage of reusable containers that would be acceptable to both shoppers and merchants for use as an alternative to bags for handling items at market check-out stations.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

This invention comprises an arbitrary number of identical reusable nestable containers that have seamless, easy to clean and sanitize surfaces. The containers are fabricated from a light weight, durable, liquid and chemical resistant, food safe material, and they are provided with features that address the need for a temporary, out of the way, location for an assemblage of containers during a shopping interim and a space for storing, within the parameters of each container, a lid or cover for concealment of content or for protection of content from the elements.

A preferred embodiment of the invention, envisioned in FIG. 1 of the drawings removablly affixed to a store shopping cart, is an assemblage of identical reusable oblong nestable containers 1, FIGS. 2-8, each container having an inside bottom width that is sufficiently greater than one half of it's length at the rim so as to permit storage, as seen in FIG. 4 of a foldable lid 2 having a compartment 3, seen in FIG. 5 for housing a fabric cover 5 seen deployed in FIG. 8. Each container is provided with a dual purpose protrusion 9, FIGS. 2-8 at each end of the container for use as a handgrip for two hand lifting of a container or an assemblage of containers and for functioning as a nesting stop for establishing and maintaining storage space at the bottom of a preceding nested container. A handle assembly 8, best seen in FIG. 4, is provided for carrying a single container or an assemblage of containers with one hand. Latching devices 10, FIGS. 2-8 are provided at each end of the container for securely linking nested containers, and hangers 11, 11 a, FIGS. 2-8 are provided for attaching an assemblage of containers to a store shopping cart.

Implementation of the invention entails the transport of a portable assemblage of reusable containers into a market and affixing it, as seen in FIG. 1 of the drawings, with extended hangers 11 a, best seen in FIGS. 5-8, to a position on a store shopping cart where it would not interfere with the placement in the cart of items selected during the course of a shopping interim. At the culmination of a shopping interim the assemblage would be relayed to a check-out loading location where a loader would disengage latches 10, FIGS. 2-8 and release containers for loading as needed.

Because it is often difficult to predetermine the need to cover content prior to loading a container, the foldable lid 2 can be lifted from the bottom of the container and rotated so as to become loosely held in a vertical orientation as seen in FIG. 5 by it's retention tether 6 to a side wall of the container pending a decision on deployment. After determination of need or desirability for deployment, either the foldable lid 2 or the fabric cover 5, FIG. 8 could be deployed or left in the container with the other items. For situations wherein deployment is predetermined, the foldable lid 2 could be attached by a clasp 7, FIGS. 4,6, to an arm of the handle assembly 8, while loading is in progress.

Loaded containers would then be temporarily placed in a store shopping cart pending transfer to the shopper's means of conveyance and ultimate transport to the shopper's destination.

The preferred embodiment is further described in the following explanation of the drawings.

EXPLANATION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 of the drawings envisions an assemblage of reusable nestable containers affixed to a store shopping cart.

FIG. 2 is an end view of a reusable nestable container showing:

1. a nestable container; 8. a handle assembly for lifting or carrying the container or an assemblage of containers with one hand; 9. a dual purpose hand grip/nesting stop protrusion for two hand lifting of the container or an assemblage of containers and for establishing and maintaining storage space at the bottom of a nested container; 10. a latching device for linking nested containers, and 11. a hanger, retracted.

FIG. 3 is a side view of a reusable nestable container showing:

1. a nestable container, 8. a handle assembly for lifting or carrying the container or an assemblage of containers with one hand; 9. dual purpose hand grip/nesting stop protrusions for two hand lifting of the container or an assemblage of containers and for establishing and maintaining storage space at the bottom of a nested container; 10. latching devices for linking nested containers; 11. a hanger, retracted, and 11 a. a hanger, extended.

FIG. 4 is a top view of a reusable nestable container showing:

1. a nestable container; 2. a foldable lid in planar orientation at the bottom of the container; 4. an aperture for connecting a retention tether to the container; 6. a lid retention tether; 7. a clasp for attaching a foldable lid to an arm of the handle assembly; 8. a handle assembly for lifting or carrying the container or an assemblage of containers with one hand; 9. dual purpose hand grip/nesting stop protrusions for two hand lifting of the container or an assemblage of containers and for establishing and maintaining storage space at the bottom of a nested container, and 10. latching devices for linking nested containers.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a reusable nestable container showing:

1. a nestable container; 2. a foldable lid in a vertical orientation at a side of the container; 3. a compartment for housing a fabric cover; 4. an aperture for a retention tether; 6. a lid retention tether; 8. a handle assembly for lifting or carrying the container or an assemblage of containers with one hand; 9. a dual purpose hand grip/nesting stop protrusion for two hand lifting of the container or an assemblage of containers and for establishing and maintaining storage space at the bottom of a nested container; 10. a latching device for linking nested containers; 11. a hanger, retracted, and 11 a. a hanger, extended.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a reusable nestable container showing:

1. a nestable container; 2. a foldable lid clasped to a handle assembly arm; 4. an aperture for a retention tether; 6. a lid retention tether; 7. a clasp for attaching a foldable lid to a handle assembly arm; 8. a handle assembly for lifting or carrying the container or an assemblage of containers with one hand; 9. a dual purpose hand grip/nesting stop protrusion for two hand lifting of the container or an assemblage of containers and for establishing and maintaining storage space at the bottom of a nested container; 10. a latching device for linking nested containers; 11. a hanger, retracted, and 11 a. a hanger, extended.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a reusable nestable container showing:

1. a nestable container; 2. a foldable lid, deployed; 8. a handle assembly for lifting or carrying the container or an assemblage of containers with one hand; 9. a dual purpose hand grip/nesting stop protrusion for two hand lifting of the container or an assemblage of containers and for establishing and maintaining storage space at the bottom of a nested container; 10. a latching device for linking nested containers; 11. a hanger, retracted, and 11 a. a hanger, extended.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a reusable nestable container showing:

1. a nestable container; 5. a fabric cover, deployed; 8. a handle assembly for lifting or carrying the container or an assemblage of containers with one hand; 9. a dual purpose hand grip/nesting stop protrusion for two hand lifting of the container or an assemblage of containers and for establishing and maintaining storage space at the bottom of a nested container 10. a latching device for linking nested containers; 11. a hanger, retracted, and 11 a. a hanger, extended.

FIELD OF SEARCH

US Patent class 206/ . . . “Containers for special purposes” Yahoo internet: “Alternatives to plastic and paper bags”

ADVANTAGES OF THE INVENTION

This invention addresses and overcomes the inadequacies of previously known shopping containers, and implementation of this invention could dramatically reduce, if not completely eliminate, the need for a great number of plastic and paper bags in the market place. Other advantages of the invention over bags include ease of cleaning, better protection of contents from crushing, leakage and breakage, faster check-out times, safer transport of contents and easier distribution of goods at the destination point. This invention could be beneficial both environmentally and economically to almost every person on the planet by eliminating possible bag fees and by reduction in the cost of landfill maintenance.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

This invention provides shoppers with a practical and economical means for substituting multiple reusable containers for bags at market check-out stations. Although integrated elements of this invention have long been known and used for many disparate purposes, it is now apparent that a unique, novel, and useful invention has been developed and disclosed. It is noted that variations could occur to persons skilled in the art that would not affect the scope or spirit of the appended claims. 

I claim:
 1. the coalescence of the features described in the preceding specification to form a compact, viable assemblage of an arbitrary number of reusable containers that can be easily introduced at market check-out stations for implementation as substitutes for bags.
 2. the reusable container of claim 1 having: means for establishing and maintaining a storage space at the bottom of the container; means for covering the contents of the container; means for preventing loss or misplacement of container covers; means for the carrying the container or an assemblage of containers with one hand; means for lifting the container or an assemblage of containers with two hands; means for secure retention and quick release of the container or multiple containers from an assemblage of containers, and means for attaching the container or an assemblage of containers to a shopping cart. 